0:00:00.000,0:00:02.593
[chime][br][water drop echoes]

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[TED intro plays]

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[applause]

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-I'm a veteran[br]of the Starship Enterprise.

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[audience laughs and whoops]

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I soared through the galaxy

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driving a huge starship

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with a crew made up of people[br]from all over this world:

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many different races,[br]many different cultures,

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many different heritages[br]all working together.

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And our mission was[br]to explore strange new worlds,

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to seek out new life[br]and new civilizations,

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to boldly go[br]where no one has gone before.

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Well[br][chuckles]

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[scattered applause]

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I am the grandson

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of immigrants from Japan[br]who went to America,

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boldly going to a strange new world,

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seeking new opportunities.

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My mother was born[br]in Sacramento, California.

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My father was a San Franciscan.

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They met and married in Los Angeles

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and I was born there.

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I was four years old

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when Pearl Harbor was bombed

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on December 7, 1941

0:01:27.750,0:01:29.889
by Japan,

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and overnight,

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the world was plunged into a world war.

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America suddenly[br]was swept up by hysteria.

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Japanese Americans,

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American citizens of Japanese ancestry,

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were looked on with suspicion,

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and fear,

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and with outright hatred

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simply because

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we happened to look like the people[br]that bombed Pearl Harbor.

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And the hysteria grew and grew

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until on February 1942,

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the President of the United States,

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt,

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ordered all Japanese Americans[br]on the West Coast of America

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to be summarily rounded up

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with no charges, with no trial,[br]with no due process.

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Due Process is the core pillar[br]of our justice system.

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That all disappeared.

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We were to be rounded up and imprisoned

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in ten barbed-wire prison camps

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in some of the most desolate places[br]in America:

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the blistering hot desert of Arizona,

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the sultry swamps of Arkansas,

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the wastelands[br]of Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado,

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and two of the most desolate places[br]in California.

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On April 20,[br]I celebrated my fifth birthday,

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and just a few weeks after my birthday,

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my parents got my younger brother,

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my baby sister,[br]and me up very early one morning,

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and they dressed us hurriedly.

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My brother and I were in the living room

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looking out the front window,

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and we saw two soldiers[br]marching up our driveway.

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They carried bayonets on their rifle.

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They stomped up the front porch[br]and banged on the door.

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My father answered it,

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and these soldiers[br]ordered us out of our home.

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My father gave my brother[br]and me small luggages to carry,

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and we walked out[br]and stood on the driveway

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waiting for our mother to come out.

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And when my mother finally came out,

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she had our baby sister in one arm,

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a huge duffel bag in the other,

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and tears[br]were streaming down both her cheeks.

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I will never be able[br]to forget that scene.

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It is burned into my memory.

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We were taken from our home

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and loaded onto train cars

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with other Japanese American families.

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There were guards stationed[br]at both ends of each car

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as if we were criminals.

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We were taken two thirds[br]of the way across the country,

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rocking on that train[br]for four days and three nights,

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to the swamps of Arkansas.

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I still remember the barbed-wire fence[br]that confined me.

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I remember the tall sentry tower

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with the machine guns pointed at us.

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I remember the search light[br]that followed me

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when I made the night runs[br]from my barrack to the latrine,

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but to five year old me,

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I thought it was kind of nice[br]that they lit the way for me to pee.

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[audeince laughs]

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I was a child,

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too young to understand[br]the circumstances of my being there.

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Children are amazingly adaptable.

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What would be grotesquely abnormal

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became my normality

0:05:29.110,0:05:33.914
in the prison of war camps.

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It became routine for me[br]to line up three times a day

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to eat lousy food[br]in a noisy mess hall.

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It became normal for me[br]to go with my father

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to bathe in a mass shower.

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Being in a prison,[br]a barbed-wire prison camp,

0:05:52.040,0:05:55.429
became my normality.

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When the war ended,

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we were released

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and given a one way ticket[br]to anywhere in the United States.

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My parents decided to go back home[br]to Los Angeles,

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but Los Angeles[br]was not a welcoming place.

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We were penniless.

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Everything had been taken from us,

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and the hostility was intense.

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Our first home was on Skid Row

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in the lowest part of our city,

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living with derelicts,

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drunkards, and crazy people;

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the stench of urine[br]all over on the street,

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in the alley, in the hallway.

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It was a horrible experience.

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And for us kids, it was terrorizing.

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I remember once,

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a drunkard came staggering down,

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fell down right in front of us,[br]and threw up.

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My baby sister said,[br]"Mama, let's go back home."

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because behind barbed wires was,[br]for us,

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home.

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My parents worked hard[br]to get back on their feet.

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We had lost everything.

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They were at the middle of their lives[br]and starting all over.

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They worked their fingers to the bone,

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and ultimately,

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they were able[br]to get the capital together

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to buy a three bedroom home[br]in a nice neighborhood.

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And I was a teenager,

0:07:31.370,0:07:36.109
and I became very curious[br]about my childhood imprisonment.

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I had read civics books

0:07:38.210,0:07:42.739
that told me about the ideals[br]of American democracy:

0:07:42.740,0:07:45.799
"All men are created equal."

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We have inalienable right to life,[br]liberty,

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and the pursuit of happiness.

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And I couldn't quite make that fit

0:07:55.610,0:07:59.179
with what I knew to be[br]my childhood imprisonment.

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I read history books, and I could--

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I couldn't find anything about it.

0:08:04.330,0:08:07.989
And so, I engaged my father after dinner

0:08:07.990,0:08:12.369
in long, sometimes heated, conversations.

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We had many, many conversations[br]like that,

0:08:15.730,0:08:20.319
and what I got from them[br]was my father's wisdom.

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He was the one that suffered the most

0:08:22.750,0:08:25.899
under those conditions of imprisonment,

0:08:25.900,0:08:30.009
and yet he understood American democracy.

0:08:30.010,0:08:35.019
He told me that our democracy[br]is a people's democracy,

0:08:35.020,0:08:37.989
and it can be as great[br]as a people can be,

0:08:37.990,0:08:43.299
but it is also as fallible as people are.

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He told me that American democracy[br]is vitally dependent

0:08:47.230,0:08:49.389
on good people

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who cherish the ideals of our system

0:08:53.530,0:08:56.049
and actively engage

0:08:56.050,0:08:59.739
in the process[br]of making our democracy work.

0:08:59.740,0:09:03.579
And he took me to a campaign headquarter.

0:09:03.580,0:09:07.149
The governor of Illinois[br]was running for the presidency,

0:09:07.150,0:09:12.249
and introduced me[br]to American electoral politics.

0:09:12.250,0:09:16.299
And he also told me[br]about young Japanese Americans

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during the Second World War.

0:09:19.330,0:09:21.789
When Pearl Harbor was bombed,

0:09:21.790,0:09:25.029
young Japanese Americans,[br]like all young Americans,

0:09:25.030,0:09:27.369
rushed to their draft board

0:09:27.370,0:09:30.759
to volunteer to fight for our country.

0:09:30.760,0:09:33.459
That act of patriotism

0:09:33.460,0:09:37.569
was answered with a slap in the face.

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We were denied service

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and categorized as "Enemy non-alien".

0:09:46.570,0:09:49.719
It was outrageous to be called an enemy

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when you're volunteering[br]to fight for your country,

0:09:52.780,0:09:57.069
but that was compounded with the word,[br]"non-alien,"

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which is[br]a word that means

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a citizen in the negative.

0:10:04.540,0:10:08.229
They even took the word,[br]citizen, away from us,

0:10:08.230,0:10:12.549
and imprisoned them for a whole year.

0:10:12.550,0:10:14.679
And then the government realized

0:10:14.680,0:10:19.059
that there is[br]a wartime manpower shortage,

0:10:19.060,0:10:23.379
and as suddenly as they rounded us up,

0:10:23.380,0:10:28.569
they opened up the military for service[br]by young Japanese Americans.

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It was totally irrational.

0:10:30.910,0:10:33.579
But the amazing thing,

0:10:33.580,0:10:35.709
the astounding thing,

0:10:35.710,0:10:40.809
is that thousands[br]of young Japanese American men and women,

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again, went[br]from behind those barbed-wire fences,

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put on the same uniform[br]as that of our guards,

0:10:48.130,0:10:51.399
leaving their families in imprisonment

0:10:51.400,0:10:53.829
to fight for this country.

0:10:53.830,0:10:55.929
They said that they were going to fight,

0:10:55.930,0:10:59.139
not only to get their families out

0:10:59.140,0:11:01.719
from behind those barbed-wire fences,

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but because they cherish the very ideal

0:11:04.870,0:11:09.099
of what our government stands for--[br]should stand for--

0:11:09.100,0:11:13.816
and that was being abrogated[br]by what was being done.

0:11:15.610,0:11:17.979
"All men are created equal,"

0:11:17.980,0:11:21.309
and they went to fight for this country.

0:11:21.310,0:11:23.139
They were put into a segregated,

0:11:23.140,0:11:25.629
all Japanese American unit,

0:11:25.630,0:11:28.209
and sent to the battlefields of Europe.

0:11:28.210,0:11:31.329
And they threw themselves into it.

0:11:31.330,0:11:34.029
They fought with amazing,

0:11:34.030,0:11:37.719
incredible courage and valor.

0:11:37.720,0:11:41.109
They were sent out[br]on the most dangerous missions,

0:11:41.110,0:11:44.259
and they sustained[br]the highest combat casualty rate

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of any unit proportionally.

0:11:47.920,0:11:51.499
There's one battle that illustrates that.

0:11:51.500,0:11:54.319
It was a battle for the Gothic Line.

0:11:54.320,0:11:58.879
The Germans were embedded[br]in this mountain hillside,

0:11:58.880,0:12:03.379
rocky hillside, in impregnable caves,

0:12:03.380,0:12:06.319
and three allied battalions

0:12:06.320,0:12:09.679
had been pounding away at it[br]for six months,

0:12:09.680,0:12:11.959
and they were stalemated.

0:12:11.960,0:12:15.229
The 442nd was called in

0:12:15.230,0:12:18.139
to add to the fight,

0:12:18.140,0:12:23.629
but the men of the 442nd[br]came up with a unique,

0:12:23.630,0:12:25.999
but dangerous idea.

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The back side of the mountain[br]was a sheer rock cliff.

0:12:30.500,0:12:32.232
The Germans thought

0:12:32.233,0:12:36.199
an attack from the backside[br]would be impossible.

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The men of the 442nd[br]decided to do the impossible.

0:12:40.940,0:12:44.419
On a dark, moonless night,

0:12:44.420,0:12:48.559
they began scaling that rock wall,

0:12:48.560,0:12:52.189
a drop of more than 1000 feet.

0:12:52.190,0:12:55.039
In full combat gear

0:12:55.040,0:12:57.644
they climbed all night long

0:12:57.645,0:13:02.719
on that sheer cliff.

0:13:02.720,0:13:04.372
In the darkness,

0:13:04.373,0:13:08.449
some lost their handhold[br]or their footing,

0:13:08.450,0:13:12.679
and they fell to their death[br]in the ravine below.

0:13:12.680,0:13:16.699
They all fell silently.

0:13:16.700,0:13:19.219
Not a single one cried out,

0:13:19.220,0:13:22.639
so as not to give their position away.

0:13:22.640,0:13:26.539
The men climbed for eight hours straight,

0:13:26.540,0:13:29.869
and those who made it to the top

0:13:29.870,0:13:33.959
stayed there[br]until the first break of light.

0:13:33.960,0:13:38.609
And as soon as light broke,[br]they attacked.

0:13:38.610,0:13:40.559
The Germans were surprised,

0:13:40.560,0:13:45.389
and they took the hill[br]and broke the Gothic Line.

0:13:45.390,0:13:47.319
A six month stalemate

0:13:47.320,0:13:49.344
was broken by the 442nd

0:13:49.345,0:13:52.529
in 32 minutes.

0:13:52.530,0:13:56.069
It was an amazing act,

0:13:56.070,0:13:57.813
and when the war ended,

0:13:57.814,0:14:02.429
the 442nd returned to the United States

0:14:02.430,0:14:07.769
as the most decorated unit[br]of the entire second world war.

0:14:07.770,0:14:09.986
They were greeted back[br]on the White House lawn

0:14:09.987,0:14:11.609
by President Truman,

0:14:11.610,0:14:16.349
who said to them,[br]"You fought not only the enemy,

0:14:16.350,0:14:20.969
but prejudice, and you won."

0:14:20.970,0:14:24.329
They are my heroes.

0:14:24.330,0:14:27.599
They clung to their belief

0:14:27.600,0:14:30.629
in the shining ideals of this country.

0:14:30.630,0:14:32.339
And they proved

0:14:32.340,0:14:34.859
that being an American

0:14:34.860,0:14:38.099
is not just for some people,

0:14:38.100,0:14:43.379
that race is not how we define[br]being an American.

0:14:43.380,0:14:47.009
They expanded what it means[br]to be an American,

0:14:47.010,0:14:49.349
including Japanese Americans

0:14:49.350,0:14:53.639
that were feared,[br]and suspected, and hated.

0:14:53.640,0:14:56.819
They were change agents,

0:14:56.820,0:15:01.499
and they left for me a legacy.

0:15:01.500,0:15:03.359
They are my heroes,

0:15:03.360,0:15:05.729
and my father is my hero,

0:15:05.730,0:15:08.369
who understood democracy and--

0:15:08.370,0:15:11.489
and guided me through it.

0:15:11.490,0:15:14.069
They gave me a legacy,

0:15:14.070,0:15:17.729
and with that legacy[br]comes a responsibility,

0:15:17.730,0:15:19.929
and I am dedicated

0:15:19.930,0:15:22.059
to making my country

0:15:22.060,0:15:25.149
an even better America,

0:15:25.150,0:15:27.729
to making our government

0:15:27.730,0:15:30.849
an even truer democracy.

0:15:30.850,0:15:34.359
And because of the heroes that I have

0:15:34.360,0:15:38.289
and the struggles[br]that we have gone through,

0:15:38.290,0:15:42.909
I can stand before you[br]as a gay Japanese American.

0:15:42.910,0:15:45.639
But even more than that,

0:15:45.640,0:15:49.419
I am a proud American.

0:15:49.420,0:15:50.618
Thank you very much.

0:15:50.619,0:15:52.200
[applause]

0:15:52.201,0:15:54.738
[musical sting][br][outro music]